Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)

"Published posthumously in 1924, the novella Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative) remains one of Herman Melville's most compelling works of fiction. The richness of its text has yielded myriad interpretations of its subtext, and this tale of a trial at sea has been the subject of interdisciplinary analyses across the academy. At the same time, it is still a work of fiction meant-even now, over a century later-to be read, appreciated, and enjoyed in its own way. Designed and illustrated by the celebrated artist, publisher, and printmaker Barry Moser, this new edition of Billy Budd celebrates both the content of the story and the book itself as an object to behold. Over the course of a fifty-year career, Moser has lent his talents to over three hundred books ranging from children's books to classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Alice in Wonderland. For his Billy Budd, Moser has produced sixteen original woodcut images using techniques and tools that he hasn't employed since the 1970s. The result is a book of unexpected beauty and clarity-a fitting complement to Melville's enduringly ambiguous literary masterpiece"--